Exits
by FreekyDisaster18
Summary: Let's send Stuart off in style!
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHORS NOTE: This is just a boredom buster one shot. We all know that Colin McCredie has been axed from Taggart (heart still breaking!) so I thought I'd write reasons for the loss of my favourite character that are more flamboyant than the one they've given him! After all the years he gave them too...**

**DISCLAIMER: I only own Ewan and yes the case is shizz but that's not important xD**

**

* * *

Exit #1  
**

* * *

"_You have no right to accuse him of this!" Stuart roared angrily as he burst into his boss' office. Burke looked up from his desk, his hand reaching up to take off his reading glasses as he sighed. He should have been waiting for the moment when Stuart had found out what had happened._

"_Stuart..." He started but didn't get much further._

"_Why would you accuse Ewan of killing a gay man and even then say its homophobic based!" He shouted not even thinking how he could be saying these things to his boss. Burke knew how surreal it sounded but in the end he stood up._

"_Your partner has a background of "gay bashing" as he called it back in his interview. The only reason he didn't get put behind bars then was because the parents of the young gentleman that was nearly killed didn't want anyone to know so they dropped the charges!" Burke held out the file he'd been reading and Stuart stared at it. He shook his head. _

"_He grew up in a hard time and his parents were homophobic. He did it to cover himself. Now he doesn't care what anyone thinks of him, he's made a name for himself. Even the police fear his name!" He shouted and fell down into a chair, his hand tightening against the file as he read through the details. By the end of the file, tears were falling heavily down his face. "This was a long time ago. He had nothing to do with that kid's murder, Burke." The steel in his voice caused Burke to look up but was too late as he'd already left the office._

How had they been blind? Why had they accused Ewan knowing full well that it was ridiculous for a gay man to be accused of killing another gay man on the grounds of homophobia. It had been solid and only brought up because of Ewan's record. Burke knew through the history of being with both men that Ewan had done things he regretted as a teenage boy so that his brother would be proud of him.

Burke should have thought it out better instead of pushing away one of his detectives. He had known better than to think that Stuart would see the logic behind the arrest. A voice inside his head snapped that had happened because there was no logic behind the reason. He ran his hand over his tired face as he continued thinking of what had happened.

_The actual murderer had been found, the motive being a jealous ex-lover that wasn't happy that the boy had moved onto something better and he'd been too cowardly to do it without his ex-lover seeing his face. He'd caved one day and had threatened to shoot himself but thankfully Stuart had made sure that hadn't happened._

"_I fucking told you all," the anger in his voice was apparent as he threw the guy, now in handcuffs, towards Robbie. His jaw was clenched and Robbie actually felt worried for Burke because Stuart actually looked as if he wanted to use someone as a punching bag. Everyone knew that Burke would be number one on his list because he'd issued the warrant for Ewan's arrest. "Now if you don't mind, I have to go get my fiancé out of jail and hope he doesn't blame me for this!" _

Burke could still remember how bad he'd felt and how desperately he had wanted to apologise but he had failed because every time he had close to picking up the phone or even going round, he had stopped himself. He had more than putting Ewan away on his conscience because during his short stint in the pen, Ewan had been beaten and raped. Ewan hadn't fought back because he had wanted to get out in one piece. He remembered seeing the state of his face all covered in bruises and cuts then there had been the horrible limp that he'd had. When Robbie had tried to help him, Ewan had actually flinched as if he'd felt someone that he'd known as his friend was going to hurt him.

"_We need to talk," Burke said to Stuart as he walked into his office. Stuart hadn't bothered to take his coat off and just nodded his head as he moved into the office. "Stuart, we need to apologise for what happened but the evidence pointed towards..."_

"_What evidence?" Stuart asked calmly. "Come on, I've been a detective long enough to know that you had no evidence apart from the history of homophobic behaviour and that Ewan owned the nightclub. Hell there was nothing link Ewan with the victim and yet he still ended up in jail where he was abused."_

"_Stuart..."_

"_No. Nothing you can say can make this better." He said seriously as he looked at Burke. "I used to love my job. I used to know that I was doing something that was keeping the world safe and I was one of the detectives that fought on our side. I have never wanted anything to do with a team that's bent. I thought I had found the perfect family and friends in you guys,"_

"_And you have Stuart because we do love you and we are grateful for your friendship!" He looked over at him and then Stuart just nodded his head before handing something over to him. Burke looked down at it and then back up at Stuart, "Stuart..." he said staring at him but Stuart just shook his head before turning to leave the office, ignoring the pleas of his name._

Burke picked up what Stuart had handed him and took a deep breath. How the hell did he pass this on? Everyone would be crushed and he knew because he felt it too! He heard Jackie's laughter indicating that his two detectives were back from interrogating their main suspect. He stood up and headed towards the door, his hand running over his tired face. How was he going to handle this?

"Boss, the guy apparently has an ironclad alibi but I'm not buying it. He was too twitchy," Robbie called over as he tried to phone someone. Eventually he gave up and put his phone down on the table. "This is getting silly. Why can't I get through to Stuart's phone?"

"He's probably broken it," Jackie said. "Has he phoned yet and said why he isn't come in yet?" She asked Burke and Burke looked at them. He decided the best plan of action was to be blunt with them.

"I have bad news," he said softly looking over at them. "He came in to see me last night and he handed me his resignation. He's also taking the three week notice off as holiday time which he'd saved up," he said to make them realise that there would no longer be any Stuart in the office. The two detectives stared at him.

"He's just gone like that?"

"He and Ewan decided they needed a new start so they're planning on moving." Burke explained lightly and he was about to continue when Robbie slammed his hand down on the table.

"This is bullshit!" He shouted. "We all agreed that there was no point in arresting Ewan and now we've lost our best friend. I hope the fucking justice system is happy," he walked out of the office, his anger obvious in his hunched shoulders. Jackie just sat on her chair, tears silently falling down her cheeks as she felt a loss.


	2. Chapter 2

**AUTHORS NOTE: So this is a lame little piece but I'm going to come up with some better ideas. Don't you worry about that!**

**DISCLAIMER: If I owned the show, my baby would never leave!**

**

* * *

**

**[Exit Two]**

**

* * *

**

The case was clear cut.

They were to simply search the building. They had no fears that anyone lived in the building, it would have been deserted due to Robbie having given the suspect an idea that this was the place where they believed the murder had originally happened so maybe there was enough evidence to catch the murderer. Burke had cleverly organised all this and now here they were, finding the evidence they believed were left in this abandoned warehouse.

When the boss' voice commanded that they move inside, Robbie kicked the door open and moved into the building. A few moments passed before Jackie followed then Stuart. They'd had training for this situation but that didn't mean you were prepared for it when it happened.

Stuart's heartbeat pulsed in his ear as he listened to Robbie command him to go to the left, Jackie to the right and he would continue forward. They nodded their head in agreement. Robbie reached over and squeezed Stuart's shoulder causing the younger man to smile. He loved knowing that Robbie could tell when he was nervous. He nodded his head again and started towards the left.

His hand was sweating, his grip loosening on the gun but he couldn't hear anything so he had no fear. He kicked each other door open and searched inside, his eyes scanning for anything that could be important to the case but every room he entered was empty. He sighed. This was a total waste of their time. He was just about to radio Robbie when he heard a noise behind him.

The grip on the gun tightened, his head spun round to face the last door that he hadn't entered yet. He knew he should call back up but it was probably just a trapped pigeon or something. He'd already heard Robbie curse over the radio over a pigeon flying out at his face. He decided that he'd wait and see what was happening before radioing for help.

At the door, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. This was going to be okay. Kicking open the door, he moved inside quickly and saw that this indeed was the room where the murder had happened. There was everything a guy would need for the perfect murder. His finger twitched on the gun as he hunted the place for whoever had been in here. He went to turn round and froze as he found himself staring into the end of a gun.

"You'll never be able to report it now," the gun fired and the bullet pierced through his brain. Before he landed on the floor, he heard both Robbie and Jackie calling through his ear piece for him to assure them that he was alright. He just blacked out knowing that they'd have to find him here and that would lead them to all the evidence they needed. He'd be caught after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**AUTHORS NOTE: So this isn't one of the best exit ideas I've ever had but read away anywho! You know I love to know your advice on the situation.**

**DISCLAIMER: I only own the OC's**

**

* * *

**

**[Torture]**

**

* * *

**

**DAY ONE...**

Stuart struggled against the bonds, his heart racing as he realised that there was no way he was getting out of this one. He couldn't believe he'd been stupid enough to go alone to interrogate the husband about the flaws in his alibi. It was obvious that he was unstable and that he was the murderer. It was also obvious that Stuart wasn't going to come out of this one without a scratch.

He had no idea where they were but there were enough tools on the wall to cause damage so that he'd never be recognised. He struggled against the bonds again, his eyes starting to sting as he bit back tears because he wouldn't give the bastard the satisfaction. "You don't have to do this. You can let me go and you'll have less of a punishment."

"But I shall still be punished," he said sitting down in front of Stuart, his hand wiping at the knife that he held. He froze when he saw the wedding ring on Stuart's hand. "You're married?" Stuart didn't know how to answer so eventually he just nodded. "I assume you have children because you're the fatherly type. I can see it in you."

"You never had children with your partner?" Stuart asked wanting to know why because he knew that they'd never had children from the records that they'd pulled when the wife had been initially found murdered but she had children somewhere because the M.E. had said that she'd definitely given birth once in her life but from the damage, he couldn't say when exactly.

"We did," he whispered looking down at the blade. "The bastard wasn't mine. I made sure that no one ever knew about him and she suffered for her infidelity." He smiled happily and Stuart was suddenly scared. This was a hardcore psychopath they were dealing with. He didn't realise there was a difference between right and wrong. He felt like the punishment had to fit the crime and the uglier the better.

"You beat your wife for having another man's child for years. Why didn't you just kill her straight away?"

"Death takes away the pain, don't you think?" He then dragged the blade deep down Stuart's arm causing him to howl out in pain, his eyes closing as the tears he'd been holding back fell down his face. "I like to torture my possessions first so they know that I'm in charge." The second arm received the same torture and when Stuart finally opened his eyes, he was alone.

**DAY TWO...**

"Are you awake, my detective?" He asked moving into the small hut, his grin feline as he sat down in front of him again. "You didn't lose much blood yesterday, did you?" He said checking out the floor that laid around them. "Don't worry though. The rats will eventually come for you." He promised.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because my wife wasn't my first kill, detective." He admitted standing up and picking up a screwdriver. Stuart stared at the tool for a moment, his mind trying to analyse where he would force it because it was apparent the game was to cause as little damage as possible so that the games could last for a long time. "I've been murdering people since I was sixteen." Stuart knew he was forty six.

"How many have you..." he screamed as the screwdriver was forced into his left knee, his blood spurting up and into his face meaning that one of the main veins had been ruptured. He found his breathing getting ragged as he glared at the man. "How many have you killed?" He continued asking through the pain.

"You'll be my thirty-first. I normally aim for one a year but my wife was a growing project so you can be this years." He said stroking the man's cheek, licking at the hand that now had a mixture of his tears and blood on it. "I think you'll be my strongest, detective."

**DAY THREE...**

Stuart was starting to suffer from the blood loss now. His head was light, his stomach weak as if he was dying for food. He watched as the man moved in holding a plate. "I can't allow my detective to get weak now or that will take the fun out of the hunt," he said holding out the piece of bread for Stuart to eat.

He shouldn't have eaten it. Stuart should have known better but his stomach had started growling and he was right. He did need his strength if there was any chance of him getting out of this alive. He ate eagerly, his tongue lapping up anything that he spilt down his chin. Once all the food was gone, he opened his eyes and saw that the guy had gone. He closed his eyes again.

Of course, the food was laced with poison. Two hours later, Stuart threw his guts up.

**DAY FOUR...**

The rats were starting to peek underneath the door, Stuart still had strength in one of his legs to stamp down enough to keep them away from him but he knew it wouldn't be long before he just gave up. He knew the team would be looking for him but he couldn't help but wish that either they'd hurry up or that he'd hurry up and kill him. Sighing, he saw a rat move into the room and he bit down on his lip as he waited for it to get closer.

When it did, he stamped down on it and closed his eyes as he heard the crunch of his bones. He hated this. He wanted to be let out. "Why won't you come kill me, you bastard?" He cried out through his tears.

What Stuart didn't know was that the team had dragged him in for interviewing and he'd managed to convince him that he hadn't got the young detective. He had a stoneclad alibi for when they assumed Stuart had been taken. Only he really knew the truth and he wasn't going to kindly volunteer it.

**DAY FIVE...**

Moving into the shed, he smiled at the dead rat that Stuart had managed to kick away from his body. He could also see that Stuart was asleep now but that was all he did so that he could hide from the pain. "My detective, did you miss me yesterday?" He asked sitting down in front of him, his hand stroking at the detective's foot as he held onto the hammer and the large nail. "By killing that rat, you disobeyed my plan meaning you shall need to be punished."

Stuart was just starting to wake up when the nail was punctured through his foot. He howled in pain, his foot jumping away causing even more pain to rip through his body as he whimpered. How could he still be alive after all the blood loss? It was obvious that he'd done research into where he could pierce without an instant death.

"Why won't you just kill me?" Stuart pleaded through his tears. "I just want it to end, please." He closed his eyes as the shame he'd have felt at the beginning of the week disappeared as his tears fell fast and heavy. The man just chuckled.

"It'll be over soon. I promise."

**DAY SIX...**

Stuart had accepted his sentence. He was going to die. He woke up and saw him sat there in front of him holding a laptop open. On the screen was one of the home videos that Stuart insisted they always take so that they can have memories of Ronan when she was older. It was Ronan's birthday and she was sat at the head of the table on Stuart's knee, her hands holding tight onto the table as she grinned happily at the princess birthday cake that was being put down on the table by Ewan. "Turn it off!" He begged.

The chorus of happy birthday started and he closed his eyes as he heard his daughter's happy giggle, the sounds of his family singing. He heard his own voice instruct Ronan to make a wish before she blew out the candles. He heard the exaggerated blow out of the candles before Ewan asked if he could know her wish. "No silly! It won't come true then," came the teasing voice of the daughter.

A lone tear slipped down Stuart's cheek as he realised that he'd only have one wish right now. He opened his eyes, his vision blurred from the tears just to catch the end of the video where Ronan turned round to look at Stuart. She hooked her arms around his shoulders and smiled, her lips pressing a kiss to her cheeks. "I love you, daddy!" She said happily before the video cut off.

"You bastard," Stuart said through his tears as he looked down at the floor, his tears falling still as he wished that he was at home right now with his little girl.

"You love your daughter?" He refused to answer, his gaze looking away from the man as he tried to pull himself free again. "You're not going anywhere." Stuart looked at him, his cries getting louder as the screwdriver drove into his shoulder. He cursed loudly as a shooting pain soared through his body, warm blood dribbling down his arm. He wanted it to end. He needed it to end. His tears fell as he heard the video start up again.

"You bastard!" He called out after him as the man left, the DVD player continually playing in front of him.

**DAY SEVEN...**

The batteries had died a few hours previously but he could still hear Ronan's giggle, Ronan telling him that she loved him and worst of all he could hear his husband's laugh. They were sounds he'd accepted that he wouldn't ever hear again as he felt his body starting to die around him. He'd already started chucking up tiny splutters of blood and he knew that meant his insides were failing thanks to the pills he'd taken the other day.

"How are we today?" The man asked moving into the hut and Stuart just closed his eyes, feigning sleep. The man just chuckled as he sat down in front of him. "No pain today. I just need you to drink some of this medicine."

Before Stuart could stop anything, a spoon was forced between his lips and he tasted the strong taste of bleach. He tried to spit it out but a hand covered his mouth. "You'll swallow it or the next portion will be bigger, do you understand me?" It was obvious that he was starting to lose patience in Stuart and now he wanted it to be over with.

"Just get it over with," Stuart pleaded open his mouth wide as a sign that he wanted him to finish him off. He shook his head.

"I want it to be slow for a reason, princess." He pointed out screwing the cap back onto his bottle before turning around to leave.

**DAY EIGHT...**

Robbie stood at the bedroom door, his hand rubbing at his face as he stared at the man hanging from the ceiling. He knew what this meant. There was no way they'd be able to find Stuart now unless he'd left a clue behind. They were ransacking everything to make sure that nothing was left unturned. If a clue was here, they'd find it. He saw Jackie stressing at a inferior officer and he couldn't help but feel for the officer. Everyone was worried for Stuart's safety now and he didn't want to be the one that told...

"Robbie?" Ewan, he thought as he turned to see Ewan standing at the foot of the stairs. Robbie moved down and led him back outside. "What's happening?"

"He's commited sucide and now we're hunting for any clue to where Stuart could be," he could see Ewan reading his face for any clues so he decided just to be clear with him, "the chances of us finding Stuart, Ewan, is pretty slim. We're trying everything we can but..." he stopped talking as he felt himself starting to tear up. How could this be true? He found himself controlling himself and continuing, "there are no promises. We will do everything in our power."

Ewan crumbled right there in front of Stuart, his anger apparent as Robbie pulled him in for a hug. The tears fell down the husband's cheek as he realised that he'd never see his partner again.

**DAY FIFTEEN...**

Stuart couldn't cope anymore. He'd tried his best to keep his eyes open despite the fact he could feel his organs failing, his blood was all over the floor thanks to the bleach and he'd even stopped caring about the rats. He took one final deep breath before he submerged into a world of black where he felt no more pain.

**DAY THIRTY TWO...**

"It is my deepest regrets to inform you today that the search for Detective Sergeant Stuart Fraser-McIntyre has come to a standstill. There is not enough power or hours in a day to carry on the search. However, we would like for anyone with information after this day to ring the hotline still because that will stay open. The police offer their deepest sympathies to DS McIntyre's family and would like them to know that we did all we could and we hope that one day the case will re-open with brand new evidence. Our fingers are crossed."

Ewan turned off the television, his anger taken out at the fact Burke was so calm as he gave the conference. He should know that Burke was just following orders but he felt let down by Stuart's closest friends and as his tears fell, he realised that he'd lost his husband forever and no one cared.

**DAY FIFTY-FIVE...**

Ewan and Ronan left in the middle of the night without telling the team. They had received a visit from Stuart's family and they had offered their condolences and had sought forgiveness for how they'd treated him. Ewan had decided that being found was too easy for them and they needed a new life in a different town. He'd not even packed. He had money to start a new life elsewhere. He did leave a scribbled note saying that he'd get in touch with a new address at a later date in case anything new came to light.

**DAY FOUR HUNDRED...**

A blank postcard was sent to Robbie with Ronan's handwriting on it. That was the end of that. Robbie literally put it in his drawer and forgot about it. There was no faith that Stuart would be found.

**FIVE YEARS LATER...**

Robbie walked up the front door to Ewan's new house. They'd not spoken since Stuart's disappearance five years earlier and he didn't know how that had happened. He rang the doorbell and smiled at a teenage Ronan. "Dad, there's an officer at the door!" She called after Robbie had flashed his badge. He didn't focus on the fact his niece had forgotten him but instead smiled as Ewan moved to the front door.

"Oh my god, Robbie!" He said moving to the door and pulling him into a hug. "It's been too long. What could have possibly..." he stopped talking as he saw the expression on Robbie's face and he started to cry almost immediately. "You found him."

"He was found in one of the abandoned army houses on the outskirts of town. No one ever uses the barracks so no one ever thought to check there but they're being re-built on and they were doing routine checks..." He remembered the call and thought how it was ironic that he, Jackie and their new detective had responded to the call. You would never have guessed it was Stuart at first but when the DNA and teeth imprint had come back they knew their friend had finally come home. "You're listed as his next of kin so we needed to alert you but I didn't want to share something like that with you over the phone."

"I have him back," Ewan whispered happily through his tears. "I thought I'd go to my own grave never knowing where he was!" He fell down onto the chair, his hand rubbing at his hands and he only stood up again when Ronan moved into the living room.

"Is everything okay, dad?" He nodded his head and pulled his daughter into a hug.

"They found your dad's body." He smiled. "It means we're finally allowed to bury him. We were never allowed to bury him because of there being nobody. Thank you Robbie. You have no idea how much this means to us,"

"I have an inkling." He said but saw Ronan looking at him.

"Uncle Robbie?" She said before laughing. "Wow you got old," she teased moving and pulling him into a hug, her lips pressing a damp kiss to his lips. He smiled knowing that Stuart's return would bring them all together again.

**New Exit Coming Soon...**


End file.
